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i have a 55 gallon african cichlid tank with 6, four inch cichlids and one 5 inch pleco and they have been in the tank for almost two years together and i was wondering if it would be too much stress to redo their whole entire tank. i just think its getting boring and i want a change and also when i set it up two years ago i was alot less experienced so i set it up very plain. i have one piece of fake driftwood a fake rock ornament and two fake plants. my idea is to put alot of rocks inside and make like caves and such. main question is if i would like to do this would i have to take them out of the tank or can i just pul everything out and put in wat i want?

if anyone has taken their time to read this and can help me it will be very much appreciated

thank you

I would say it would be easiest to take the fish out. That way you don't have to worry about accidentally squashing one with a rock. They'll be very happy when you put them back in and they see all those caves around!

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. - Oscar Wilde

i hope so thats my initial plan for them to have a better life but would squashing them be your only concern because if so i trust myself with not sqaushing them

I'de take them out even for the sake of stress. While moving them may not be stress-free, it's better than the iritants that may get kicked up if you start shuffling the substrate around, (hey, everyone has the corner that they miss vaccuming ) as well as watching everything get yanked up around them, and having to dodge hands and ornaments. If it were just a matter of plants it wouldn't be such a big deal, but with creating caves out of rock I'de say moving them is a good idea.

problem is i have to find a place to put them

i used big rubermaid containers as stock tanks when i do any big changes. It's not something you'de keep the fish in for more than an hour or two, but it does the job when you're doing major aquascaping.